The Oakland Raiders have retained the services of their free agent shutdown corner for at least another three years. The $45.3 million dollar contract sets a new gold standard of pay for his position.

His average salary of $15 million per season exceeds that of even Colts' QB Peyton Manning's previous league best $14 million.

Asomugha has been the bright spot among a Raiders' defense that has struggled the past few seasons. His re-signing continues what is proving to be a very good offseason thus far for the Raiders.

The Raiders and their All-Pro Punter Shane Lechler agreed to a contract Wednesday night that will keep him in Oakland for another four years. The terms of the contract were undisclosed, but Raiders' Senior Executive John Herrera told the Associated Press that, "This contract is the greatest ever given to a punter in the history of the National Football League".

The Raiders were believed to be on the verge of losing Lechler to free agency this season due to rumors about him being somewhat unhappy in Oakland and wanting to look at other teams. These rumors came to a head when information was later released about an altercation that involved Lechler and DT Terdell Sands aboard the team plane on their way home from a victory in Denver. The details of the incident are unknown, but it was reportd that Lechler suffered a minor injury via a sock to the face by 335 lb. Sands.

Fortunately for the Raiders, they are now able to retain the services of the man who will most likely go down in NFL history as the best punter of all time. They are also free to slap the franchise tag on cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha who is also up for free agency this year.

The Raiders offseason continues to look promising.

The Oakland Raiders are having a pretty good off-season so far, especially when compared to where they were a year ago at this time. Heading into the 2009 season they have no coaching controversy plagueing the the team and their two stars on offense, Russell and McFadden, appear to be recovering quite well from their post-season surgeries. Russell had an operation on his ankle to remove some bone chips and McFadden had a minor shoulder surgery, which up until now has been kept on the down low. Both are expected to be ready for action when March workouts begin.

The Raiders have already been making personnel decisions too. They locked up starting cornerback Chris Johnson with a four year deal and they brought in former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bruce Gradkowski who they claimed off of waivers. The Gradkowski acquisition is not so significant, but securing one of their strating corners is. Johnson performed well last year starting opposite Nnamdi Asomugha, who is eligible for free agency this year. Retaining Johnson's services will prove to be especially important if the Raiders end up losing Asomugha this off-season.

Two of the Raiders' top players, and arguably the best in the NFL at their respective positions, are up for free agency in 2009. The Raiders' All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, and All-Pro punter Shane Lechler are not likely to both be starting the 2009 season with the Oakland Raiders. One of them will almost inevitabley move on.

Asomugha has reportedly stated that he's interested in seeing what's out there, and it's been hinted that Lechler may want to explore greener pastures as well. However, it's certain that Al Davis is going to slap the franchise tag on one of these players. The obvious choice would most likely be Asomugha, given that he's not only the Raiders' top player in the defensive secondary, but perhaps the best corner in the NFL. While having a shut-down corner like Asomugha on the roster is a definite need for the Raiders, so is a punter of Lechler's caliber.

When it's all said and done, Lechler will probably end his career being recognized as the greatest punter in NFL history, and may possibly become the first punter in the Hall of Fame. Since entering the league in 2000, Lechler has already set five Raiders' regular season records, and holds the all-time record in the NFL for highest career average per punt (46.5 yds).

So how do the Raiders cope with this off-season dilemma of trying to retain one, or both of these players? Slapping the exlusive rights tag on Asomugha is most likely what will happen. Davis will either arrange a long-term deal or trade him to another team for some hefty draft picks. It'd be sad to see Nnamdi leave the Raiders, but it's unclear whether or not the organization will be able to afford the salary it would require to keep him in Oakland for years to come.

Lechler on the other hand, would be easy to afford. Both players would attract much attention from other teams, but even as good as Lechler is, he still wouldn't be as desirable as Asomugha. Unfortunately, Lechler is probably more than interested in leaving Raider land. If being the best player in the NFL at your position, while being stuck on a losing and dysfunctional franchise for the past five years wasn't enough, how about a nice sock to the face from teammate Terdell Sands? Sands, who's 6'7" and weighing in at 335 lbs., decked Lechler on the team flight home from Denver on Novemeber 23rd.

In an ideal world, the Raiders and Asomugha could agree to a long-term contract that would keep him in the Silver and Black for eight more years perhaps. Then, they could take Lechler out, get him drunk and throw enough money at him to keep him happy. However, the truth of the matter is, neither one of these guys is excited about staying with the Raiders. I guess it'll depend upon who wants out more.

If Asomugha is bent on going to another team, Davis could put the non-exclusive tag on him and let Nnamdi shop himself around. The Raiders could seek a valuable trade for him or receive a couple first round picks, which they could certainly use for their rebuilding process. This would probably allow the Raiders to throw a boat-load of cash at Lechler and make him the highest paid punter in league history.

My early prediction is that Asomugha will probably be in another uniform next season. With all of the bad personnel decisions that have been made - throwing outrageous contracts at has-beens and never-will-be's, I don't see how they could pay Asomugha enough money to keep him happy in the land of silver and black. Personally, I'd like to see Lechler retire a Raider, so that wouldn't bum me out too much. I'd just be concerned that the Raiders didn't squander their compensation for Asomugha on more bad players.

This should be an interesting off-season for Oakland. Raider Nation... hold on tight... we could be in for a very bumpy ride.